Peter Crouch has urged Everton and Arsenal to push the boat out and sign his former Stoke City colleague Steven N’Zonzi next month.
Crouch claimed in his weekly Daily Mail column that N’Zonzi could be the bargain buy of the January sales and compared him to Gunners great Patrick Vieira.
There have been widespread reports in recent weeks that the Merseysiders are interested in a move for the French midfield powerhouse, who has slipped down the pecking order at the La Liga club.
N’Zonzi, who completed more passes than any other player in La Liga last season, has a £35million release clause in his contract and recently admitted his “future is clearly elsewhere than in Seville”.
“I have no idea where he will end up —Arsenal and Everton are the clubs getting the biggest mentions — but one thing I do know for certain is he will be a quality addition wherever he goes, as he is tailor-made for our game,” Crouch told the Mail.
“Steven was my team-mate at Stoke for three years. When he left for Seville in 2015, I was shocked that Arsenal or Liverpool didn’t enter the bidding for him as I felt he would have been ideal for both those clubs, particularly Arsenal. He looked like he could be a replacement for Patrick Vieira. I genuinely think he’s got it in him to become that good.
“Steven has been excellent for Seville and won the Europa League with them in 2016.
“If he does return to England next month, he won’t have any trouble settling as he knows the league inside out after his spells with us and, before that, Blackburn. He can have some stroppy moments when things aren’t going well, but he’s a good lad.
“Any club that takes a punt on him will be getting a good one.”
OPINION
N’Zonzi makes it clear that he is heading out of Seville after falling out with the manager in recent weeks. He would be a brilliant signing for Everton after making huge improvements since his days at Stoke. His combination of grit and guile in central midfield was key to the Spanish club winning the 2016 Europa league, and he has been an integral figure up until the events of the last few weeks. With doubts over Morgan Schneiderlin in the Everton engine room, it is easy to see why N’Zonzi is on the radar of Allardyce, who is said to be a huge fan. The comparison to Vieira is a huge one, but N’Zonzi is a serious operator and would immediately enhance the Everton side.